Context

1973 was the year that the Miami Dolphins completed a perfect NFL season with a win over the Redskins in Super Bowl VII. Ferdinand Marcos became President of the Philippines. Richard Nixon began his second term as President. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion rights in Roe v. Wade. George Foreman won the heavyweight championship from Joe Frazier. The Vietnam War ended. Comet Kahoutek was discovered. The first cellular phone call was completed. The World Trade Center twin towers opened, soon followed by Chicago's Sears Tower. Federal Express was launched. Secretariat won the Triple Crown. Skylabs 1-4 were launched. The automatic teller machine was patented. The Watergate Scandal broke. An energy crisis was triggered by an Arab oil embargo. Gerald Ford succeeded Spiro Agnew as Vice-President. The Buffalo Bills' O. J. Simpson rushed for 2,000 yards. Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho shared the Nobel Peace Price.

Notable works of 1973 include William Friedkin's fim The Exorcist, Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow, Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon. Other box office hits included The Sting, American Graffiti, Papillon, The Way We Were and Magnum Force. Hit singles included "Angie" by the Rolling Stones and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'round the Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction went to Eudora Welty's The Optimist's Daughter.